The Ghost of Dixie
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: The Impossibles ain't just whistling Dixie when they decide to investigate an abandoned and supposedly haunted amusement park in Georgia. I've upped the rated to T due to the storyline getting a little dicey.
1. UnWelcome to Peach Pit

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: This'll do for a title until I can think of something better. As always, The Impossibles and Big D belong to Hanna-Barbera. Everyone else you encounter is mine. Also, all of the amusement parks mentioned are my own creation, with the exception of Frivolous Gardens, as that was once mentioned in an actual Impossibles cartoon. City names are also made up, but if I should have happened to come up with the actual name for something, it was by coincidence._

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The singing Impossibles were driving along in their Impossi-Mobile, having just completed their concert gig at the Fun World Amusement Park in Harper, South Carolina. They were playing every major amusement park in the country on this tour. They had started in Frivolous Gardens near their hometown of Megatropolis, The Sunshine Factory, in Cherry Hill, California, Enchanted Gardens in Goldrush, Nevada, Soda Springs Park in Soda Springs, Colorado, Fantasy Frontier in Emerald City, Kansas, Corny Corners in Cornball, Iowa, Fricassee Funland in Chicken Rivers, Kentucky, and Funville in Presley, Tennessee. Multi's puppy, Skittles, didn't like this tour. She wasn't allowed inside any of the theme parks.

"What's our next stop, Fluey?" Coiley asked.

"Kiddie Land USA in Cottonwood, Alabama," Fluey said, checking the band's itinerary.

"All the way in Alabama?" Multi asked, scratching Skittles behind her ears. "None in Georgia?"

"None," Fluey said, double checking the schedule. "I asked Phyllis about it, and she said there wasn't a major amusement park in Georgia anymore."

"Anymore?" Coiley asked.

"Yeah, the only one there closed in nineteen ten," Fluey said. "I don't know why, though. I asked Big D if he remembered anything about it."

"What did he say?" Multi said.

"He said, and I quote," Fluey replied, pausing for a minute. "Watch it, young man."

Multi and Coiley began laughing. They knew their chief didn't like any comments about his age.

For the entire day, the boys drove down the highways, and it was a heck of a drive. By sundown, they had entered a small town called Peach Pit, Georgia, and Coiley stopped in front of a small motel, which had a huge orange neon sign shaped like a peach. Inside the peach was green neon script that said "Peach Pit Inn." Next to the motel was a diner.

"Why are we stopping here?" Fluey asked.

"It's getting late and I'm tired of leaving the Impossi-Mobile on auto-pilot and sleeping in the car," Coiley replied.

Multi and Fluey happened to agree with that one. The boys grabbed their stuff, and walked into the lobby. The desk clerk looked up at them. He forced a smile as they walked up to the desk.

"Evenin'," he said. "What can ah do for y'all?"

"We'd like a room for the night," Coiley said.

"Hmmmm . . . . ." the clerk said. "Well . . . . . ah think you boys would be bettuh off in Atlanta."

"Atlanta?!" Fluey shouted. "Come on, man, that's miles from here!"

"Yeah, we've been driving all day," Multi said.

"There _are_ rooms available, aren't there?" Coiley asked. "Your sign said vacancy."

"So it does," the clerk said. "How about that? Heh, heh."

"Do you have a pet policy or something?" Multi asked, scratching Skittles behind the ears. "I mean, we didn't see anything that said no pets allowed or anything like that."

"No, no, ah don't have a problem with the dog," the clerk said, then he added, under his breath, "It's that dern Yankee Dawson y'all walked in with ah've got the problem with."

"What did you say?" Fluey asked.

"Nothin'," the clerk said. Then he sighed. "All right. Ah'll give you a room. But ah cain't be held responsible for anythin' if you fellers hang around heah too long."

The boys stared at the clerk oddly, but signed the register anyway. Once they got the key to their room, they stashed their stuff, and went next door to the diner for something to eat. The minute they walked in, all activity stopped. Everyone in the diner turned to stare at them.

"Why are they looking at us like that?" Fluey asked.

"Probably not used to seeing rock and roll singers," Multi shrugged. Skittles began whimpering.

"This town doesn't seem to be very friendly," Coiley said. They were about to walk over to a table when a waitress walked over at stopped them.

"Hold it, hold it, hold _it!_" she shouted. "Ah'm afraid you cain't come in heah. We don't serve _dogs_."

"Oh," Multi said. "No problem. We'll just take her back to our motel room and . . . . ."

"Ah wasn't talkin' about the puppy," the waitress said. "She's welcome heah. Ah was talkin' about _him_!"

The waitress then thrust her finger right at Fluey, leaving the dark-haired Impossible looking confused.

"_Me_?!" he shouted. "What do you mean?"

"Ah know a no-good, rotten, dirty, dern Yankee Dawson when ah see one!" the waitress yelled. "Your kind ain't welcome heah in Peach Pit! Now get out!"

"My kind?" Fluey asked. "What do you mean my kind?"

"No Dawson would _dare_ set foot in this town!" the waitress shouted again.

"Come on, fellas, let's split," Fluey said.

"Yeah, we can take a hint," Multi said.

"Now, wait a minute," the waitress said. "You two and the dog can come in, it's your friend that's got to go."

"No dice, lady," Coiley replied. "It's all or nothing with us."

"Wait heah," the waitress sighed, and went into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she came out, followed by a man in a business suit.

"Good evenin', gentlemen, ah'm the managuh of this heah dinuh," he said. "Ah apologize for the waitress. Please have a seat, and anothuh servuh will be with you shortly."

"Thanks," Multi said as he, Coiley, and Fluey sat down at the table.

"Dirty Yankee Dawson or not, if they're a payin' customuh, they come in," the manager said.

"Okay, hold it a minute here," Fluey said. "What's all this about me being a dirty Yankee Dawson?"

"Well, suh, it's a bit involved," the manager said. "But it happened durin' the War Between the States."

"The Civil War?" Multi asked.

"We prefuh to call it the War Between the States heah in Peach Pit," the manager said. "And let me tell you boys somethin', the Massacre of Peach Pit wasn't a purdy sight, mostly thanks to a charactuh known as General Bennington Butluh Dawson. Wait right heah. Ah'll be right back."

The manager went into the kitchen, and returned with a large book titled _The Complete History of Peach Pit, Georgia_. He opened it to a page about the Civil War, and showed it to the boys.

"The Battle of Peach Pit, eighteen sixty-three," Multi said, reading the title of the page. "Led by Yankee general, Bennington Butler Dawson."

"General Dawson led them Yankee troops down heah to Peach Pit," the manager went on. "And most Yankees call it the Battle of Peach Pit, but it was more of a massacre! General Dawson wiped out nearly all of our soldiers! Lot of us heah had ancestors in that war, includin' my great-great-great grandpappy. The Yankees claimed him a hero. We heah in Peach Pit thought of him more as a murderuh!"

"I can see that," Fluey said, skimming through the section in the book. "The description of the fight in this book sounds more like a blood bath than a battle!"

Fluey turned the page, and there was a picture of General Dawson. Fluey nearly had a heart attack when he saw it.

"Holy double takes!" he shouted. "Fellas, look!"

"Uncanny," Coiley said, looking at the picture, and then his bandmate. "You look a lot like General Dawson, Fluey!"

"Why are you so surprised, anyway, Fluey?" Multi asked.

"Well, I thought Dawson was kind of a common name," Fluey said with a shrug. "I didn't think he'd end up being my great-great-great-great grandfather, or something like that. It sure explains why people are giving us the cold shoulder here, though."

"Exactly," the manager said. "People heah tend to hold a grudge. Especially General Beauregarde B. Beauregarde. He hated anyone that had to do with the Dawson family. But he got over it aftuh awhile. Aftuh the war ended, General Dawson stahted courtin' General Beauregarde's daughtuh, Dixie Belle. General Beauregarde wasn't too happy 'bout that. One day, Dixie Belle was found dead, and General Dawson had up and disappeared. He was nevuh heard from again. In eighteen ninety, General Beauregarde built Dixie Land, which is down the road a piece, named aftuh his daughtuh, Dixie Belle. But it closed down in nineteen ten. Nobody knows why. Mattuh of fact, it's still theah."

"It is, huh?" Coiley asked. "Since nineteen ten?"

"Yessuh," the manager said. "Nobody's got the guts to go teah it down. Strange things happen ovuh in that ol' park. Some folks say it's haunted. Personally, I think that's just a load of bull."

The boys just looked at each other, and gave the book back to the diner manager, and said nothing. They were going to leave town in the morning anyway. After all, they had a gig in Alabama to play.


	2. Mission Missing Impossible

The next morning, the boys left the Peach Pit Inn and hit the road for Cottonwood, Alabama and Kiddie Land USA. At one point, they began driving along a deserted strip of road, with almost no signs of life anywhere.

"I think we took a wrong turn somewhere, Coiley," Fluey said.

"I think you're right," Coiley said. "I don't see anything around here. Not even a street sign!"

Coiley continued driving along, until Fluey spied a Ferris wheel in the distance.

"Look at that!" he shouted. "I wonder if that's Dixie Land the guy at the diner was talking about?"

"Could be," Multi said. "Maybe they'll be a road sign close by and we can figure out where we're going from there."

Coiley and Fluey agreed, and continued driving along, until they reached the gates of Dixie Land. It was completely rusted. Weeds were growing everywhere around. The whole place looked very unkempt.

"Let's get out of here," Fluey said. "This place gives me the creeps!"

"Yeah, it can't be too far from the main highway from here," Multi said.

Coiley was about to start the Impossi-Mobile back up, when the gates of the park creaked open, and loudly. The boys turned to look, but no one was there. Suddenly, calliope music began to play, and it was all coming from inside the park.

"This is really weird," Coiley said. "You guys don't think this place really _is_ haunted, do you?"

"Well, stranger things _have_ happened, Coiley," Multi admitted. "Mostly to us. What do you think, Fluey?"

Fluey didn't answer. He was staring at the Ferris wheel intently. He climbed out of the car, and started heading for the gates. Multi and Coiley looked at him as if he were completely crazy.

"Fluey?" Coiley asked. "Hey, Fluey, where are you going?"

Fluey didn't respond. He just continued walking toward the gates. Skittles began barking like crazy. She revved up, and shot out of the Impossi-Mobile as fast as she could, dashing over to Fluey. She began twirling her tail around in circles as fast as she could, causing her to become airborne (her tail acted like a helicopter propeller), and she grabbed the back of Fluey's jacket with her teeth, and tried to pull him back to the car. But Fluey kept right on walking, not even acknowledging the puppy. It was like he was in some kind of trance. Skittles let go, and went back to the Impossi-Mobile, barking frantically.

"I think Skittles is on to something here, Coiley," Multi said, climbing out of the car himself. "We'd better follow him."

"Right," Coiley said, getting out of the Impossi-Mobile. "Hey, Fluey, wait a minute!"

Multi, Coiley, and Skittles ran toward the park gates. By this time, Fluey had just entered the park, and the gates were beginning to close.

"What's going on here?" Multi asked.

"We'd better hurry up and get in there before the gates shut," Coiley said. The two Impossibles and Skittles ran for the gates and managed to get inside just as they closed with a screech and a loud _CLANG_!

"I don't like the looks of this, Multi," Coiley said.

"I don't, either," Multi replied. "Come on, we'd better catch up to Fluey."

The boys then ran down the path, trying to catch up with their team mate, but for some odd reason, Fluey seemed to be moving faster than they were. And he was only walking. Coiley and Multi couldn't catch up to him. Skittles revved up and shot forward, but even _she_ couldn't match Fluey's pace.

"Hey, Fluey, stop for a minute!" Coiley called.

"What's going on with you?" Multi asked. "Wait for us!"

But again, Fluey didn't answer. He just kept walking further into the park. A strange fog was beginning to roll in. Fluey walked right into it. Coiley, Multi, and Skittles tried to follow him, but they lost sight of him quickly.

"Hey, Fluey!" Multi called out. "Fluey, where are you?! You see him, Coiley?"

"Nope," Coiley said. "I can't see anything in this fog. It's as thick as peanut butter!"

"Don't you mean pea soup?"

"No, peanut butter. I can't stand pea soup."

Skittles began sniffing around. but she was having a difficult time picking up Fluey's scent. She immediately began whimpering.

"I wonder what's up with Fluey, anyway?" Coiley asked. "It's like that carnival music's got him hypnotized."

"Maybe it does," Multi said. "Did you he didn't answer us when we were calling him? And how fast he was going, even though he was only walking? Not even Skittles could keep up with him!"

"You're right, Multi. Boy, this is getting creepy."

Multi nodded. Finally, the fog lifted, and the calliope music stopped. The boys walked right t the center of the park. The place looked like it was falling apart. Paint was peeling, wood was rotting, and metal was rusting. The colored casings from the light bulbs were cracked and broken. High grass and weeds were growing wild everywhere.

"Looks like this place has been abandoned for years," Multi said.

"Well, then, who opened the gate?" Coiley asked. "And who started playing that calliope music?"

"And where in the world did Fluey get to?"

Skittles began sniffing around again, but she couldn't seem to find Fluey's scent at all. She began whimpering again. Multi bent down, and started petting her.

"Don't worry, girl," he said. "We'll find Fluey. He's got to be around here somewhere. After all, we all saw him come in here, right?"

"Right," Coiley said. Skittles barked in agreement.

The boys began walking down what looked like a carnival midway. There was the Ferris wheel the boys saw from the road, and it was a tall one. There was also a Tilt-A-Whirl, a Whip, a couple of roller coasters, a double decker carousel, a miniature train, a smaller carousel, and various other thrill rides and kiddie rides, all of which looked like they were in serious need of repair.

"Fluey!" Coiley called out. "Hey, Fluey, where are you?!"

"He's got to be around here somewhere," Multi said. Skittles continued sniffing around. Multi and Coiley followed her. Suddenly, a heavy gust of wind blew, nearly blowing Skittles and the boys off their feet.

"Staaaayyyyy awaaaayyyyyy!" a ghostly voice shouted.

"Leave this place while you caaaaaan!" another called out.

"Bewaaaaarrrre!" another yelled.

"Goooo noooo furtheeeeerrrrr!" another warned.

"What was _that_?!" Multi shouted.

"Yipe!" Skittles yipped, and ducked behind Multi's leg.

"Sounded like the wind, but . . . ." Coiley said. "But . . . . the wind was telling us to get out of here . . . . . wasn't it?"

"I don't know, Coiley."

"You don't think this placereally _is_ haunted, do you?"

"I don't know that, either. But I _do_ know we can't leave here without Fluey."

Coiley and Skittles agreed, and the trio continued walking around, but they kept hearing ghostly voices telling them to get out of the park. Suddenly, the calliope music started up again, and the rides began moving. Coiley took a glance at the small carousel and saw it full of children. But they were all wearing old fashioned clothes, and they were all transparent. Like ghosts. Multi was looking up at the old Ferris wheel. There were several riders on it as well, but they too were wearing old fashioned clothes and appeared ghostly. It was the same for the other rides and attractions, too. There were quite a few people around, but they were all ghosts. Skittles yipped, and hid behind Multi's leg. Multi picked her up, and began petting her, not only to comfort her, but to comfort himself as well. He, and Coiley for that matter, were beginning to get spooked.

"Get out while you caaaaan!" several of the ghosts called out. "Staaaay awaaaaayyyyy!"

"But . . . . but . . . . we can't leave without our friend!" Coiley shouted.

"Gooooo baaaaaack!" the ghosts shouted. "Gooooo baaaaack!"

Suddenly, the ghosts faded away, and the music and the rides stopped. Coiley and Multi looked at each other nervously, and Multi increased his grip slightly on his dog.

"D-d-d-d-do you th-th-th-think this is j-j-j-just a t-t-t-trick, Multi?" Coiley asked.

"I d-d-d-d-don't th-th-th-think so, Coiley," Multi said, scratching Skittles behind the ears. "I don't think anyone would set up such an elaborate effect."

"M-m-m-maybe we should go back."

"We can't go back until we find Fluey. We don't have any choice but to search the park until we find him. But let's stay together."

Coiley and Skittles agreed, and they continued walking along the park.


	3. Haunted Mansion

Coiley, Multi, and Skittles wandered to an area of the park that was called Pioneer Place. It was like Disneyland's Frontier Land.

"Looks like a town right out of the old west," Multi said, looking around.

"Yeah, a ghost town," Coiley commented. "You getting anything, Skittles?"

Skittles looked up at Coiley, whimpered, and shook her head.

"This is really weird," Multi said. "It's like Fluey disappeared without a trace! There's no sign of him anywhere!"

"We'd better keep looking," Coiley said.

Skittles and the two Impossibles began checking out Pioneer Place, being extremely careful when they came across an old building or a ride. No telling if something was going to fall from a ride, or if the roof of a building was going to cave in. Skittles continued sniffing around. She couldn't figure out why she couldn't pick up Fluey's scent.

The boys continued wandering around the park until they arrived at a stone statue of a young woman in the center of the park. Coiley brushed away some dirt and cobwebs from the nameplate in order to read it.

"Dixie Belle Beauregarde," he said. "Eighteen forty-six to eighteen eighty-eight."

The wind began to pick up suddenly then, blowing harder than it had earlier. Once again, the calliope music started up, and the rides began moving again. Voices exploded everywhere, giving their ghostly warnings, and apparitions of people in those old fashioned clothes faded into view as well.

"Gooooo awaaaaaayyyyyyy!" they shouted. "Leave while you still caaaaaannnn!"

"Multi, this place is really starting to freak me out," Coiley said.

"I know," Multi said, nervously. "It's freaking me out, too. But we can't leave until we find Fluey!"

"Get out!" the voices chanted. "Get out before it's too late!"

"Too late for what?" Coiley asked.

"Staaaaayyyyy awwaaaayyyyy!" the voices continued. "Go away and never return!"

Everything stopped all of a sudden, and the ghostly apparitions disappeared. Coiley and Multi were growing more and more nervous by the second.

"I don't care what anyone says, Multi, I think this place _is_ haunted!" Coiley shouted.

"We'd better find Fluey and get out of here fast!" Multi shouted.

Skittles continued sniffing about. The trio came to what appeared to be an old Southern mansion, which looked ten times worse than the rest of the park. There was a wooden sign above the entrance that read "The Haunted Plantation."

"I guess that's the park's old haunted house," Coiley said.

"Let's see what's inside," Multi said, and he Coiley and Skittles crept up to the hold house. They tried to open the door, but they found it was locked.

As Multi was trying to open the door, the ground began to shake violently, knocking Skittles and the two Impossibles off their feet, and off the front porch of the mansion.

"Whoa!" Coiley shouted. "Shaky seismographs! What's going on? An earthquake?!"

"I don't think so, Coiley," Multi said.

A low rumble was heard, and suddenly, a strange gray fog began to rise from the mansion. The fog grew, and slowly began taking the shape of a ghostly face. The face looked a bit like the stereotypical "Old Southern Gentleman," complete with mustache and beard, but unlike the "Old Southern Gentleman" stereotype, this one looked downright mean. Not to mention _very_ creepy looking.

"Holy horror movies!" Coiley shouted. "It's like the giant head in _The Wizard of Oz_!"

"I don't like the looks of this . . . . ." Multi said, nervously. Skittles began whimpering.

Suddenly, the ghostly head opened his mouth, and an extremely loud roar came out of it, as well as a gigantic burst of wind, and the ground began shaking again, even more violently than before. The wind was so strong, it swept Coiley, Multi, and Skittles up into it, and pushed them toward the front gate. Skittles and the two Impossibles couldn't fight it, no matter how hard they tried. They were blown right back to the park's entrance. The gate opened, and Skittles and the two Impossibles were practically thrown out of the park. They landed directly into the Impossi-Mobile, and the gates clanged shut. Evil laughter was heard inside, and then it faded away. The only thing the boys could hear then were a couple of crows in the distance.

"Swirling sidewinders," Coiley groaned.

"Oooh, what hit me?" Multi asked, dazedly. Skittles whimpered, and cuddled up next to Multi.

"Looks like we're back where we started," Coiley sighed.

"We've got to get back in there," Multi said.

The trio got out of the Impossi-Mobile, and began walking toward the rusted gates. But the minute they got there, the gates turned into what appeared to be the mouth of a monster, complete with extremely sharp teeth. The gates began growling and snapping at Skittles and the boys, and they were forced to back away.

"KEEP OUT OF MAH PARK!" a ghostly voice from inside bellowed. "GO AWAY AND NEVUH RETURN!"

"I think he means it, Multi!" Coiley shouted.

"Come on!" Multi shouted, and he ran toward the Impossi-Mobile. Coiley and Skittles followed. Once the three of them were inside, Multi started it up, and slammed on the gas pedal. Once the park was out of sight, Multi stopped.

"Multi, we've got to go back," Coiley said. "Fluey's still somewhere in that park!"

"I know," Multi said. "But those ghostly warnings . . . . . I don't know what to do."

"Me, neither. Maybe we should head back to Peach Pit and ask around there."

"Good idea."

Multi converted to Impossi-Jet, turned around, and drove back toward the Peach Pit Inn. They figured they'd ask the manager at the diner. Once they arrived, the manager was a little surprised to see them.

"Ah thought you boys were headin' toward Alabama," he said.

"We were," Multi replied. "But we think we took a wrong turn somewhere along the route and we ended up by way of Dixie Land. And we don't care what you think, that place definitely _is_ haunted!"

"What makes you think that?" the manager asked.

"The gates opened by themselves, circus music started, our friend went through the gates, a fog rolled in, and he suddenly disappeared," Coiley explained. "We followed in after him, but we couldn't find a trace of him."

"And you nevuh will find a trace of him," an old woman sitting in a nearby booth said. Multi and Coiley turned to look at her. She was about the oldest person they had ever seen in their entire lives.

"Give it a rest with the ghost stories, Leona," the diner manager said.

"Ain't no stories," the woman said. "They all be true. Ah tell you, Dixie Land is nothin' but evil. Pure evil."

"Who are you, anyway?" Multi asked.

"Boys, this is Madam Leona," the diner manager said. "She's been around for many a yeah, and she's about as nutty as a fruitcake."

"Ah know what ah be talkin' 'bout!" Madam Leona shouted. "That park's nothin' but trouble!"

"Why doesn't someone just tear it down?" Coiley asked.

"They've tried, but everyone who's tried to destroy the place only ended up dead," Madam Leona said. "Lots of people have gone inside there. Only a few have come out."

"I really don't like the sound of that, Multi," Coiley said. "Fluey might be in serious trouble if he's still in there!"

"More than serious trouble, boy," Madam Leona said. "Especially since he's a Yankee Dawson. If he be a Yankee Dawson like we all think he be, then you ain't nevuh gonna see him again. The ghost of General Beauregarde B. Beauregarde won't rest 'til every last Yankee Dawson is dead. And there ain't nobody dumb enough to go back into that park aftuh the ghost of General Beauregarde throws them out. 'Less of course they got a death wish."

Madam Leona got up, and shuffled her way out of the diner. Coiley and Multi looked at each other. Then, they went back to the Impossi-Jet, and took off toward Dixie Land.

"We've got to get back into that park," Multi said.

"Right," Coiley said. "Ghost or no ghost. We've got to find Fluey and we've got to find him fast!"

Skittles barked in agreement. Multi flew the Impossi-Jet over the park, and brought it down right in the center, next to the statue of Dixie Belle Beauregarde. The lights on the rides started coming on, and the rides began moving. The ghostly apparitions appeared again, and the wind started blowing.

"Geeeet oooouuuuuuut!" the ghosts called out. "Leeeeaaaave this place while you caaaaannnn!"

The boys ignored the warnings, and began walking around the park, this time away from the Haunted Plantation ride. Skittles suddenly began barking. Then she launched into her pointer routine (_poing_!)

"Good girl, Skittles," Multi said, and ran over to the spot Skittles was pointing to. Coiley followed. There, on the path, were pieces of black metal, some wiring, and what appeared to be two buttons. One was blue, and the other was green. Also on the path, there appeared to be a smashed up wristwatch laying there.

"Smashing smithereens!" Coiley shouted. "It's Fluey's wrist communicator, _and_ his transformer!"

"He's definitely been here," Multi said. "We know that, at least. I just hope he's okay."

Calliope music started up again. Skittles suddenly began barking frantically, and did her pointer thing again. Coiley and Multi looked, and saw Fluey, heading aimlessly toward the Haunted Plantation building.

"There he is!" Coiley shouted.

"Fluey!" Multi called out. "Fluey, wait a minute! Stop!"

But Fluey didn't respond. He just kept walking toward the old mansion, locked in a trance. Multi and Coiley knew exactly what to do. They raced to the Impossi-Jet, and grabbed their guitars. Then they raced for the Haunted Plantation mansion. Fluey was making his way up the steps. He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, and was about to step inside when Multi and Coiley arrived, and quickly strummed out some ultra-sonic high notes as fast as they possibly could. That seemed to do the trick. Fluey stopped what he was doing, groaned, and shook his head out.

"Huh? What?" he asked, looking around. "What the heck? Hey, fellas, what's going on?"

"Thank goodness that worked!" Multi shouted, breathing a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Fluey asked, feeling extremely confused.

"You must've been hypnotized by the calliope music, Fluey," Coiley said. "But how come it only affected you, and not us?"

"Beats me," Fluey said, shrugging. "But I don't want to hang around and find out, let's get out of here!"

The decision was unanimous, and the boys started leaving the Haunted Plantation. But before they could take one step off the front porch, a pair of hands came out of the front door of the mansion, grabbed Fluey, covering his mouth, and pulled him into the mansion. Coiley and Multi raced for the door, but it slammed shut, and evil laughter echoed all around them. Multi grabbed the doorknob and tried to open the door, but it was stuck.

"We've got to get in there!" Coiley yelled, ramming the door with his shoulder. Skittles took a couple of steps back, revved up, and shot toward the doors. She hit them at full force, but they still wouldn't budge. The evil laughter grew louder.

"THERE'S NO ESCAPE NOW!" a ghostly voice bellowed. "YOU'LL NEVUH GET INSIDE HEAH!"

Thunder crashed and lightning flashed, causing the ground to start shaking, even harder than the first two times. Multi, Coiley, and Skittles were knocked off the plantation, and pushed back to the Impossi-Jet by the wind. They were just about to race back to the mansion, when a large, wrought iron fence came up out of the ground, and surrounded the mansion. The top of the fence had large, razor sharp spikes on it. The bars were so close together, Skittles couldn't squeeze through them. She couldn't even dig underneath them! She looked up at Coiley and Multi, and began whining. Multi picked her up and petted her.

"Don't worry, Skittles," he said. "We'll get in there and rescue Fluey. Somehow."


	4. Shadow of a Doubt

The boys stood at the gate, wondering how in the world they were going to get in. Coiley pulled out his transformer, and pushed the button on it. In a swirl of purple and fuschia, he changed into his superhero identity.

"Rally ho!" he shouted, springing upward. He managed to get close to the top of the gate, when suddenly, the gate began growing. Coiley landed, and tried again, giving himself an extra boost. But the result was the same. The gate grew whenever Coiley got close to the top of it.

"It's no use," Coiley said, breathlessly. "I can't make it."

"Let me try, Coiley," Multi said, taking out his transformer. "I'll duplicate, and arch myself into the plantation, and you and Skittles can use my copies as a bridge to get in."

Multi pushed a button on it, and in a swirl of red and black, transformed into his superhero identity.

"Rally ho!" he called out, and duplicated upward, trying to scale the gate, but it was doing exactly what it had done when Coiley was trying to scale it. No matter how many duplicates Multi made, he just couldn't get higher than that gate.

"No good," he sighed.

"We've got to get in there," Coiley said.

Skittles barked, and decided to try digging her way in, but at super-super-_super_ speed. The boys stood back and watched her, but no matter how fast she dug, the hole she was digging kept closing up. She finally stopped, so she could catch her breath.

"Good try, Skittles," Multi said, petting the tired puppy. "I guess we'll have to find another way in."

"There's got to be an entrance on this gate somewhere," Coiley said. "Come on, Multi. Let's look."

Multi agreed, and he and Skittles followed Coiley around the Haunted Plantation attraction, and that wrought iron gate. They weren't sure what was going on inside that creepy mansion, but they knew they had to get inside and fast.

Fluey, meanwhile, was sitting somewhere in that old place. His hands were tied behind his back, so tightly his circulation was practically cut off. His ankles were tied together equally tight as well. His captor had also gagged and blindfolded him. He could hear voices everywhere, and that evil laughter he and the others heard when he was forced into the house. Fluey was used to evil laughter from all those crooks he'd faced, and it never really bothered him before, but for some reason, this laughter was sending chills up his spine. He knew he had to get out of there and fast, so he began maneuvering his wrists to loosen the ropes.

"Don't bothuh doin' that, boy," a ghostly southern drawl said. "You ain't nevuh gettin' out of heah."

_That's what you think,_ Fluey thought to himself. Suddenly, all the voices stopped, and things got quiet. _Too_ quiet. Fluey gulped. It was about all he could do. How was he going to get out of _this_ mess?

"Ah'll be back for you," the ghostly voice said. The evil laughter was heard again, and then it faded away.

Fluey continued to maneuver his hands in order to at least try to untie his wrists, when his fingers brushed against something sharp behind him. Luckily, he didn't slice a finger off. But whatever it was behind him had a sharp blade on it. He was sure his captor (whoever that might have been) wasn't around, so he pushed himself backwards, towards the blade, slowly, so he wouldn't accidently stab himself in the back. Once he felt the blade, he started rubbing the ropes back and forth against the blade until they broke off. The minute his hands were free, Fluey immediately pulled off the blindfold and gag, and started untying his ankles.

"I'm getting out of here before I find out what this is all about," he said. "Because I don't think I even want to know!"

Fluey ran across the room, and opened the door, looking around outside. The house's interior reminded him of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. Only ten times creepier. He slowly made his way out of the room, and down a hallway. The floors were creaking with each step he took. As he was walking, he heard some more creaking behind him. He stopped, and the other creaking stopped, too. He began walking forward again, slowly. Sure enough, the other creaking picked up as well. Fluey bit his lower lip, nervously, and continued walking, going slightly faster. He kept picking up the pace until he was at a full scale run. The evil laughter started up again as Fluey was running, and he ended up running right into a suit of armor holding a huge axe. When he hit the armor, the axe fell, nearly missing Fluey by a fraction of an inch.

"Wow!" Fluey shouted. "Almost became a split personality there!"

"You ain't goin' nowhere, Dawson!" that some ghostly voice shouted. A light came into the room, and then materialized into a stereotypical southern gentleman, or rather, the ghost of a stereotypical southern gentleman. And there was nothing gentlemanly about him! He was holding a double edged sword in his hand.

"Ah know a dirty Yankee Dawson when ah see one!" he shouted, coming closer to Fluey. Fluey immediately began backing away. He reached for his transformer, but to his horror, he didn't have it!

"Where . . . . . where's my . . . . ." he began, nervously.

"Lookin' for your little box doohickey thing?" the ghost asked. "While ah had you in that trance, ah had you smash it, along with that fancy watch of yours."

"Uh oh . . . ."

The ghost smirked and began inching closer and closer to Fluey. Fluey began backing up, until he backed right into a wall.

"Holy Mesopotamia!" he shouted. "I'm cornered!"

"Trapped like the rat you are, Dawson," the ghost said, holding up the sword. Fluey immediately closed his eyes and turned his head, not wanting to see this, that was for sure. But the minute the ghost swung the sword, the old floor creaked, and gave out beneath them, sending both Fluey and the ghost down to the ground floor.

"I'm outta here!" Fluey shouted, pulling himself up, and he took off like a shot, looking for the nearest exit.

"You won't get away from me that easy, Dawson!" the ghost shouted, de-materializing for the moment.

Fluey ran for the front door of the mansion as fast as he could. He tried to open it, but it was locked, and he couldn't find a way to unlock it, either. An evil cackle was heard, and that double edged sword came right at him, and it looked like it was flying by itself.

"Yipes!" Fluey shouted, ducking the sword at the last possible second. The sword hit the door and became stuck.

"Ooooohhh . . . . . blabbermouth grits!" the ghost yelled, materializing and trying to dislodge his sword.

(_A little homage to my Uncle Roy in Alabama there_)

Fluey took that moment to scram. He threw open another door, and ran into another room.

"Ain't no use hidin', Dawson!" the ghost shouted. "Ah know where you are! And ah can float through the walls, too, so ain't no use lockin' yourself in any of mah rooms heah!"

Fluey didn't respond, he just ran across the room, and up at least two flights of stairs. On the third floor was a set of doors that led out to a balcony of some kind. Fluey tried opening them, and, to his surprise and relief, they were unlocked. He flung them open and ran out onto the balcony, which over looked the backyard of the plantation. He saw the high spiked fence right away and groaned.

"If I could only change into my superhero identity, then I'd be able to get out of here!" he groaned. He walked out to the balcony's railing and looked down. Three stories up, and it was a long way down to the ground from there. There weren't any steps, either. He leaned against the railing, and sighed, thinking about how he was going to get out of this mess. Suddenly, the railing cracked and broke off the balcony.

"Oh no!" Fluey yelled, as he almost fell off himself, but he grabbed the edge of the floor before he could.

"Frantic free falls!" he shouted, looking down. He quickly swung himself back up to the balcony and went back inside.

"Better keep moving," he said, and he slammed the balcony doors shut and went down the hall, meeting another set of stairs. He ran up them, and looked around the eerie hallway, until he spied a cobweb covered window. He brushed some of them away, and glanced outside. He saw Coiley, Multi, and Skittles walking around that fence, trying to find an opening. Fluey threw open the window, and leaned out of it.

"Fellas!" he shouted. "Hey, fellas!"

"Multi, up there!" Coiley shouted. "It's Fluey!"

"Yeah, but what's that behind him?!" Multi shouted. "Fluey! Look out behind you!"

Fluey took a glance over his shoulder, and saw shadowy claws reaching toward him. They latched onto his shoulders and tried pulling him away from the window, but Fluey resisted.

"Let me go, you creepy . . . . . whatever you are!" he yelled. "Let me go!"

An evil cackle was heard as Fluey struggled with this shadow creature. Coiley, Multi, and Skittles could only watch. They didn't know how in the world they were going to get through that iron fence. Finally, the shadow got the upper hand, and managed to pull Fluey away from the window.

"HEEEELLLLLLP!" he shrieked, and then the window slammed shut.

"Hollerin' hi fi's!" Multi shouted. "We've _got _ to find a way in there!"

"But y'all _won't_!" the voice of the southern ghost shouted, and several shadow creatures came out from the middle of nowhere, and grabbed Multi and Coiley. Skittles took off running like a shot, and a couple of shadow creatures were right behind her.

"Run, Skittles, run!" Multi yelled.

"Catch that mutt!" the southern ghost shouted. "And in the meantime, take care of these two trespassuhs! Let them see what happens to fools like them who dare come back into _mah_ park aftuh ah throw them out!"

Multi and Coiley struggled, and tried to use their powers to get free of the shadow creatures, but they found that they couldn't. The shadow creatures then dug out the boys' transformers, and pushed the buttons on them. In a flash of colors, the boys were changed back into their rock 'n roller personas. They took the boys to the old Ferris wheel, threw them inside one of the cars, (which was more like a cage than a car), slammed the door shut, and locked it. Then, they started it up, and stopped it when the car reached the very top of it. Multi glanced out of the mesh wall of the car, and gulped.

"Diabolical drop outs!" he shouted. "That's a long way down!"

The shadow creatures laughed, and disappeared. Multi and Coiley looked at each other. It was about all they could do. Coiley then started walking toward the door.

"Maybe we could try climbing down the frame work," he said. "I saw it in a movie once, this guy was trapped inside an old Ferris wheel car like this one, and . . . . ."

Suddenly, there was a screech, and the car wobbled a bit. Coiley immediately stopped.

"What was that?!" he shouted.

"I think it was the frame work giving out," Multi said, nervously. "Whatever you do, Coiley, _don't_ make any sudden movements, or we're cooked!"

"Yeah. Like pancakes."

Multi and Coiley stayed perfectly still, knowing one false move could send them hurtling to their doom.


	5. Dixie Belle Dawson

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've upped the rating on this story from K+ to T due to the fact that things are getting a little dicey here.

* * *

_

Fluey was trying to get free of these shadow creatures. He couldn't just punch their lights out. Shadow creatures were hard to hit. But he _did _have one trick up his sleeve. He stopped struggling for the moment, and waited until the shadow creatures loosened their grip on his arms. Once they did, Fluey wrenched his arms free, and back flipped, karate style, behind the shadow creatures. This confused them. They turned around, and Fluey did another back flip, to avoid getting grabbed again. He saw a door nearby, and decided to make a break for it. He jumped into the air, with one of his legs outstretched, and kicked down the door, in true karate fashion. The shadow creatures were too surprised to say anything. They just stood there.

"I knew those martial arts moves Big D taught me would come in handy," Fluey said, slamming the door shut behind him.

The door led to a set of stairs, and Fluey dashed down them as fast as he possibly could. He opened another door, and found himself in a dim room, lit by several candles. He couldn't make out what was in the room very well, but he went forward, anyway. Hopefully, he would be able to find his way out of this creepy plantation house before he had another run in with that southern fried ghost, or his shadow creatures. As he was walking, he bumped into something, apparently hanging from the ceiling. Fluey grabbed a nearby candle in order to get a better look at what he bumped into. To his horror, he saw that it was a skeleton, wearing an old Civil War Union soldier's uniform. The uniform had a huge, brownish-red stain on the front of it. Fluey wasn't sure he wanted to know _what_ it was. He also noticed the skeleton was suspended from a ceiling beam by a rope tied around it's neck.

"Holy hangman!" he shouted, backing away. "Well, like they say, no _noose_ is good _noose_. Ah heh heh heh. Eeehhhh."

Fluey knew now was not the time for bad puns, and he kept on going, wondering just how long that skeleton had been "hanging around." But he didn't think he wanted to know. He continued around the room until he came across another small room. Slowly, he opened the door. Inside were several more candles, the only source of light in the entire room. But there was also a box in there.

Fluey couldn't tell what it was at first, but he knew he definitely did _not_ want to take a closer look! He started backing out of the door, when he heard someone or some_thing_ coming down the stairs. He turned toward the door he had entered and began backing up, watching for any creeps, when he accidentally backed into the box in the room with him. Both of them fell to the floor, and Fluey saw what was in that box. A skeleton dressed in a wedding gown, veil and all. He also realized what that box was. A coffin. Then he saw a large painting on the wall, so large, it took up the entire wall. The painting was of a young woman wearing the same wedding gown and veil the skeleton was wearing. It only took Fluey half a second to realize the woman in the painting was the skeleton he had knocked over. Fluey looked at a brass plate underneath the painting.

_Dixie Belle Harrington Dawson Beauregarde, My Beloved_

"Dixie Belle Harrington Dawson Beauregarde?" Fluey asked, in disbelief. "Now _that's_ really weird. Shouldn't it be Beauregarde Dawson, if she was General Beauregade's daughter? And where did Harrington come from?"

Fluey glanced around the room and saw more framed portraits of Dixie Belle. He figured he had wandered into some kind of underground crypt or something like that. Then, he came across a book of some kind. It was old, and dusty, and the pages had yellowed with age. Fluey held up his candle and saw that it was a diary. Dixie Belle Beauregarde's diary. Fluey began skimming it, and found out that Dixie Belle _wasn't _General Beauregarde's daughter like the man in the diner said. She was born in Alabama, met General Bennington Butler Dawson two years before the Civil War, moved up north, and she and Butler (as she called him) had five children. She and Butler returned to the south when her mother fell ill, but they never made it to Alabama. They stopped in a small town of Peach Pit, Georgia, and met General Beauregarde B. Beauregarde, who seemed to be a charming older gentleman. According to Dixie Belle's diary, this was the first time General Beauregarde and General Dawson had met. And Beauregarde had taken an immediate shine to Dixie Belle, and an immediate dislike to Butler. Fluey read bits and pieces of some of the other diary entries, and found out at one point, Dixie Belle became ill, and no one could figure out the cause. Butler had also disappeared suddenly. Finally, Fluey came to the last entry, and began reading.

_I fear Beauregarde has gone mad. I still refuse to marry him. I don't understand Beauregarde anymore. He was so sweet before. The madness overcame him suddenly. He insists he isn't mad, but I'm positive he is. I know he killed my darling Butler. I heard him plot it. I heard every last word. He'll stop at nothing to win my heart, but my heart belongs to Bennington Butler Dawson, and Beauregarde knows it, too. I'm only thankful that our children are safe up north with Butler's mother. I'm so very frightened. I must find a way to escape before_

The page stopped there. There was nothing after it, except a large smudge of ink, as if someone had startled Dixie Belle as she was writing. Fluey dropped the diary and began shaking, mostly from being nervous. A blast of icy wind suddenly blew into the room, and thunder and lightning crashed. The portrait suddenly changed from a beautiful woman, to a skeleton and her gown became tattered and worn. A tortured howl came from the portrait. Fluey let out a scream of terror, and raced out of the room. More howls of terror came from all around him. He started back up the stairs and collided with a giant mechanical spider, and an over sized web. And this web wasn't the type of web his Aunt Tillie draped over the door to her house every Halloween. This was _real_ spider silk. He found the more he struggled, the more entangled he became.

"Creepy crawlers!" he shouted, trying to break loose, only finding himself getting tangled up in the mechanical spider's legs. "How am I gonna get out of _this_ one?!"

"You ain't," a creepy southern drawl said.

"Oh no. Somebody help!"

"Ain't no one that can help you now, Dawson!"

Fluey then felt something whack him in the back of the head, hard, and he blacked out.

Meanwhile, Skittles was running from the shadow creatures. She was giving them a good run for their money that was for sure, but they were relentless. Skittles then stopped for a moment, and turned to face them, glaring. Then, she barked three times, back flipped, and transformed into her super identity as Impossi-Pup. The shadow were unimpressed, and they went in for the grab. Impossi-Pup began growling as fiercely as she could muster (which wasn't all _that_ fierce, considering she's so gosh-darned _cute_), and the shadow creatures were a bit taken aback. They began backing away, nervously. Impossi-Pup then began barking, and the shadow creatures beat a hasty retreat. Once they were gone, Impossi-Pup started to walk off, feeling proud, when she bumped into something. She looked up, and saw a glowing, transparent young woman, in an old fashioned wedding gown and veil. It was obviously a ghost. Impossi-Pup let out a yip, and was about to race off, when the ghost woman picked her up, and cradled her.

"Don't be afraid, suguh," she said. "Ah won't hurt you. Ah'm gonna help you. Come on! We've got to get to the old Ferris wheel!"

The ghost then put Impossi-Pup down, and faded out. Impossi-Pup revved up, and took off like a shot in the direction of the Ferris wheel. The ghost had already materialized there. Multi and Coiley were still trapped inside the car. Neither one of them wanted to make any attempts in escaping from it. The car was already starting to come loose from the rickety old wheel.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Multi asked.

"I don't know," Coiley said. "The only way out of here I can see is a permanent way out. Straight down."

"That's for sure. I just hope Skittles got away from those shadow things."

The wind began picking up again, and it rocked the Ferris wheel car back and forth a bit, loosening it even more from the framework. Both the boys began to panic a little.

"Holy horrific!" Coiley shouted. "I think this is it, Multi!"

"Brace yourself!" Multi shouted.

The wind began picking up a bit, and the car was jarred loose from the wheel. It began falling, and Coiley and Multi braced themselves for the impact, hoping that it would all be over with quickly. It was about all they could do.

Impossi-Pup covered her eyes with her paws and whimpered. She knew she'd never be able to save Coiley and Multi from this predicament. She was able to move and super speed, sure, but she'd never be able to catch that car without getting squashed like a bug herself. The ghost kneeled down and petted her.

"Don't worry, darlin'," she said. "Ah'll take care of this little ol' problem."

The woman stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled as shrilly as she could. Several other ghosts, all wearing old fashioned clothes materialized. There were at least two hundred of them. They all floated upward toward the falling Ferris wheel car, catching it about halfway down. Coiley and Multi felt the sudden stop, and dared to look. They were now floating down to the ground gently.

"What just happened here?" Coiley asked.

"I don't have the slightest idea," Multi said.

Shortly thereafter, the car landed gently on the ground, and the door opened. Multi and Coiley walked out, a little bewildered, at least until something slammed into Multi's chest, knocking him off his feet, and causing him to skid across the ground.

"Take it, easy, Skittles!" he laughed as his puppy was happily licking him in the face. "Down, girl!"

"This dog doesn't know her own strength!" Coiley laughed. Suddenly, Impossi-Pup jumped to Coiley, knocking _him_ over, and started licking _his_ face.

"Hey, hey!" Coiley shouted. "Stop that, Skittles! Okay, okay! I'm happy to see you, too! Oooh, yuck! Puppy breath!"

"Are y'all all right?" the ghost woman asked. Multi and Coiley looked up at her, and then suddenly screamed.

"Don't be afraid," the woman said. "Just calm down. Ah'm not gonna hurt anybody."

"Who are you, anyway?" Multi asked.

"Wait a minute!" Coiley shouted. "That statue we found in the center of the park. You're Dixie Belle Beauregarde!"

"It's Dixie Belle Dawson," the ghost corrected. "But theah's no time for that. You've got to get out of heah before he finds y'all!"

"Who?" Coiley asked. "That southern fried freak out?"

"Exactly," Dixie Belle said. "General Beauregarde B. Beauregarde himself!"

"Your father?" Multi asked.

"He's not mah fathuh," Dixie Belle said. "It's a very long story, but theah's no time to tell it. You have to leave!"

"We can't leave," Multi said. "Our friend is trapped in that plantation house."

"Yeah, we can't leave without him," Coiley said.

"Ah'm afraid it's too late for him," Dixie Belle said. "Once Beauregarde gets his hands on someone, theah's no escape."

"Look, Ms. Beauregarde, or Dawson, or whatever your name is," Coiley said. "We're not leaving without Fluey, and that's that."

"If that's the way y'all feel about it, then y'all aint nevuh leavin' period," Dixie Belle said. "With or without your friend."

"What do you mean?" Multi asked.

"General Beauregarde wasn't what the history books says he was," Dixie Belle said. "He nevuh fought any battle with Bennington Butluh Dawson in the War Between the States. He wasn't really a general. And mah name was nevuh Dixie Belle Beauregarde."

"Then how come the book we saw said you were his daughter?" Coiley asked.

"Ah don't know the answuh to that one," Dixie Belle said. "Mah guess is because he was so much olduh than me and mah husband, General Bennington Butluh Dawson. That awful Beauregarde murduhed me, and he murduhed mah darlin' Butluh!"

"But why?" Multi asked.

"Because he was mad," Dixie Belle said. "He was insane! He was in love with me, but mah heart belonged to mah darlin' Butluh. Knowin' that he could nevuh have me drove Beauregarde to insanity. He murduhed mah Butluh. Then, ah found out he murduhed mah Butluh, and then he in turn murduhed me and build this amusement park to covuh up the murduhs. Not only does Beauregarde haunt this theme park, but so do ah. And ah'm cursed to haunt this park forevuh. As are all the othuhs who had been killed in this park."

"Others?" Multi asked, confused. "What others?"

"All the ghosts you've seen heah," Dixie Belle said. "Every single ghost in this park had been killed heah."

"Really?" Coiley asked. "How'd he manage to do that?"

"Some people died due to accidents," Dixie Belle said. "Standuhed ride accidents. Beauregarde just nevuh reported them, and convinced witnesses that it nevuh really happened. He was a brilliant hypnotist. Then one summuh day in nineteen ten, a violent thunduhstorm hit the park. Everyone expected Beauregarde to shut the place down and evacuate, but he nevuh did. He made sure no one got out. The storm ripped through the park, and destroyed everything. And only Beauregarde made it out of that storm alive. But that Decembuh, Beauregarde up and killed himself for no apparent reason. He's doomed to haunt this park, and so are the rest of us. And we're all trapped heah with no escape. Until someone destroys the park. But every time someone comes close to doin' it, Beauregarde drives them away. And anyone named Dawson is lured in, and Beauregarde murduhs them. He won't stop until every last Dawson on earth is dead and gone, even if they _aren't_ descendants of Butluh. And that little ol' friend of yours is a _direct_ descendant. That poor boy is just the spittin' image of my darlin' Butluh!"

"We've got to do something!" Coiley shouted. "Ms. Beauregar . . . . . I mean, Ms. Dawson, you've _got_ to tell us how to get into that plantation house. We can't get past that gate."

"But it might be too late," Dixie Belle said.

"My instinct's telling me it isn't quite yet," Multi said. "But I have a feeling it soon will be if we don't get moving and fast!"

Dixie Belle gave in, and led the boys and Impossi-Pup to the plantation house. The iron fence lowered, and the foursome walked into the yard. Dixie Belle led them inside the old mansion, and down the hallway to the cellar.

"This is where he's buried all his poor victims," Dixie Belle said. Then she pointed up to the ceiling at the skeleton in the Union soldier's uniform.

"And _that's_ what he did to mah darlin' Butluh," she said.

"Panicky playbacks!" Coiley shouted. "We'd better find Fluey and fast!"

Impossi-Pup sniffed around a little, and then did her pointer routine (_poing_!) Multi and Coiley walked over to a doorway she was pointing to, and looked in. They saw a shovel digging a hole in the floor. Beside him was a wooden box.

"Scattering skeletons!" Multi gasped. "It's . . . . it's a . . . . a coffin!"

"Yeah, and that's Fluey laying in it!" Coiley said, nervously.

Multi took another look, and to his horror, Coiley was right. Fluey was laying in the coffin, unconscious. His hands were folded over his chest, and tied at the wrists. His ankles were tied together, and Beauregarde had gagged him as well. Coiley and Multi were afraid they _had _been too late, when Fluey suddenly stirred, and let out a moan. His head was killing him. A minute or so later, the shovel was tossed aside, and the ghost of General Beauregarde himself climbed out of the hole.

"Ah see you woke up, son," Beauregarde said. "Ah was hopin' you'd stay unconscious for this. But now that ah think about it, this may be more fun. Ah've decided ah'm not gonna use any of mah swords, or pistols, or anythin' like that on you. What ah _am_ gonna do is nail this little ol' box shut, and bury you alive!"

Fluey let out a petrified shriek. Beauregarde just laughed, and took a syringe from seemingly out of nowhere.

"Don't you worry about a thing," he said. "You won't be awake to see it. This little ol' sedative'll calm you down."

Beauregarde then laughed evilly, and stuck the needle into the side of Fluey's neck. Fluey moaned, and lapsed into unconsciousness. Beauregarde laughed again, and shut the lid on the coffin. Multi and Coiley just stood there, too stunned to move. They knew they had to do something, but they weren't sure what.


	6. Narrow Escape

Multi and Coiley watched as Beauregarde began nailing the coffin shut. They didn't know exactly how they were going to stop him. Being a ghost, Beauregarde wasn't going go be easy to just sock in the jaw or something like that. While Multi and Coiley stood there, wondering what they were going to do, Impossi-Pup suddenly revved up, and took off, slamming into the ghost. Of course, she went right through Beauregarde, but he _did_ notice it!

"Why you little pipsqueak!" he yelled. "Wait'll ah get mah hands on you!"

Impossi-Pup barked at Beauregarde, as if to say "you can't catch me!" and took off running, while Beauregarde ran after her, right out of the room.

"Now's your chance!" Dixie Belle shouted. "Hurry, before Beauregarde comes back!"

Multi and Coiley ran for the coffin, and managed to pry the lid off it. They untied Fluey and pulled him to his feet, both trying to steady him, but it wasn't easy. Fluey's head was slumped onto his chest, and he was as limp as a dishrag.

"Come on, Fluey, wake up!" Multi shouted, smacking his dark-haired teammate in the face a little.

"Up at at 'em, Fluey!" Coiley shouted, shaking Fluey's shoulder. But it was no use. Fluey was out like a light. That sedative Beauregarde injected into him was some strong stuff. Dixie Belle ran over, took Fluey's chin in her hand, tilted his head up, and lifted one of his eyelids. His eye was glassy looking, and the pupil was dilated.

"You'd bettuh get him out of heah and to a hospital," Dixie Belle said. "You _have_ to get him to a doctuh quick! That sedative he used on your friend is the same one he used on me."

"What do you mean?" Coiley asked.

"When Butluh and ah stayed with Beauregarde, Butluh disappeared, and ah fell ill, but no one could find the cause. Ah didn't realize ah was bein' drugged by Beauregarde, and he's drugged your friend with the same potion. Only he's reactin' to it fah than ah did. He needs medical help right away!"

"Say no more," Multi said. Then he pulled a whistle out of his pocket and blew. Within half a second, Impossi-Pup returned, and with the sound of squealing tires, skidded to a halt.

"Let's go!" Coiley shouted, grabbing Fluey's legs. Multi wrapped his arms around Fluey's chest, and he and Coiley lifted him off the ground, and started carrying him out of that old mansion. But before they could get far, a hatchet came hurtling at them, missing them by a fraction of an inch. The hatchet did hit Dixie Belle, but since she was a ghost, all it did was go right through her, and hit the wall.

"Goin' somewhere?" Beauregarde asked, coming over.

"Leaping long plays!" Multi shouted.

"Nobody ain't goin' no place 'till that Dawson kid is dead and gone!" Beauregarde shouted. "And I'll have to take care of you two meddluhs as well!"

"Beauregarde, you leave these boys alone!" Dixie Belle shouted. "Haven't you muhduhed enough people through the yeahs?!"

"All Dawsons deserve to die!" Beauregarde shouted. "And he obviously _has_ to be a filthy, no good, dirty Yankee dog Dawson! Ah _know_ a filthy, no good, dirty Yankee dog Dawson when ah see one!"

"You must be losing your touch," Coiley said. "This is _not_ a Dawson!"

"What do y'all mean he ain't a Dawson?" Beauregarde asked. "He's clearly a Dawson! He's the spittin' image of Bennington Butluh Dawson!"

"But he isn't," Coiley continued. "His last name's McAlister. Not Dawson."

That happened to be true. Even though Fluey had found the identity of his birth parents, he decided to keep the name he grew up with, considering it was what he was used to. Multi wasn't sure where Coiley was going with this at first, and then it hit him. Coiley was trying to confuse General Beauregarde to buy them some time so they could escape and get Fluey to a doctor.

"Don't try to be foolin' _me, _ boys," Beauregarde said. "Ah can smell a Dawson a mile off!"

"Yeah, but are you _sure_?" Coiley asked.

Beauregarde just stood there. He stared at the three Impossibles, and began to have second thoughts on this. He was beginning to think Coiley _did_ have a point.

"You may have a point," he said, thinking it over. "Maybe ah should think this ovuh."

Beauregarde turned his back on the group, and whirled around right away, holding a huge dagger, ready to stab all three Impossibles with it.

"Ah thought about it!" he shouted. "Dawson or not, ah'm still gonna do him in! And the two of you as well!"

Impossi-Pup growled at the ghost, revved up, and charged. Of course, she went right through him, and she knew she would. She wanted to draw Beauregarde's attention away from her boys. She figured if she could get the ghost to chase her, it would give the boys a chance to get to the Impossi-Jet. She could always catch up to them later. But her plan didn't go as she expected. When she darted through Beauregarde, she ended up running into the room where Dixie Belle's corpse remained. Like Fluey had earlier, she knocked the coffin over. But when Skittles knocked the coffin over, she also accidentally knocked over several of the candles, and the old wooden floor caught on fire.

"Crashin' candlelight!" Coiley shouted.

"We'd better get out of here before this place becomes a blazing inferno!" Multi shouted.

"Follow me!" Dixie Belle shouted, and she led Multi, Coiley, and Impossi-Pup down a hallway. Beauregarde watched them.

"They won't get away that easy!" he shouted, and he dematerialized.

Dixie Belle managed to lead Impossi-Pup and the boys out of the plantation house safely, but they still had to get to the Impossi-Jet. As they were about to head for it, Beauregarde reappeared with several burning planks from the plantation house. He cackled madly and began throwing them at our heroes.

"Run, boys, run!" Dixie Belle shouted. She knew she wouldn't be hurt by the planks, but the boys sure would!

Multi and Coiley increased their grip on their unconscious comrade, and beat a hasty retreat toward the center of the park and the statue of Dixie Belle. That's where the Impossi-Jet was parked. But it wasn't an easy task. Beauregarde was right behind them, throwing pieces of the burning plantation house at them. The boys and Impossi-Pup managed to dodge the flaming wood pieces flying at them, but the planks only ended up setting the rest of the park on fire.

"There's the Impossi-Jet dead ahead!" Coiley shouted.

"Did you _have_ to use the word 'dead,' Coiley?" Multi groaned.

"Sorry."

Before the boys could reach their jet, a gigantic flame blocked them off. The boys tried backing up, but there wasn't anywhere to go without running into a large flame.

"Oh boy, talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire!" Coiley shouted.

"How do we get out of _this_?!" Multi shouted.

"Y'all _don't_!" Beauregarde shouted, evilly. Then he began cackling madly.

A loud crack was heard then, and the plantation house fell to the ground in ruins. Once it did, Beauregarde began flickering.

"What in tarnation?!" Beauregarde shouted.

"Hey, what's happening to General Beauregarde?" Multi asked.

"Reminds me of the bad TV reception at my sister's apartment," Coiley commented.

"No, wait! Don't you remember what Dixie Belle told us?"

"Oh yeah, nothing can stop General Beauregarde unless the park is destroyed! And this ought to do it!"

The boys and Impossi-Pup managed to find a clear path leading to the other side of the Impossi-Jet. They climbed in, started it up, and took to the air as fast as they could.

"Goodbye, boys!" Dixie Belle called, as she, too, began to flicker. "And good luck!"

The boys hovered for a bit, watching the fire destroy the entire park, and a little bit of the brush around it. Miraculously, it wasn't spreading. Sirens suddenly filled the air, and several police cars and fire engines rolled onto the scene, as well as a couple of TV news trucks. Immediately, the fire fighters got right down to work putting out the fire and getting it under control before it _could_ spread to Peach Pit. Seeing the flashing lights and hearing the blaring sirens reminded Coiley about Fluey suddenly.

"What are we hanging around for?!" he shouted.

"Right, we'd better get Fluey to the nearest hospital ASAP!" Multi shouted.

Coiley started the Impossi-Jet, and used the onboard tracking system to direct them to the nearest hospital, the Ginger Peechi Memorial Hospital in Peach Pit (somehow, Multi and Coiley weren't surprised at the name). They only hoped the doctors there would be friendlier than the motel clerk and waitress at the diner.

Luckily for them, the hospital staff didn't ask questions when the boys went in and explained that they got caught up in the fire at Dixie Land, and that Fluey (using his real name) had been drugged (only they didn't tell the doctors just who drugged him), and needed immediate medical attention. While Fluey was being taken to an examining room, Multi and Coiley were looked over, and treated for mild smoke inhalation. They were able to wait in the waiting room, though, since the smoke inhalation wasn't as bad as it could have been.

"I wonder how long this is going to take?" Coiley asked.

"I don't know," Multi shrugged. "I don't even know what kind of drug that ghost gave to Fluey. All I know is that it was injected with a needle."

About an hour later, the doctor who was treating Fluey came into the waiting room. Multi and Coiley immediately stood up.

"You boys will be glad to know your friend will be fine," the doctor said. "It's a good thing you brought him in when you did. Any latuh, and he would've been a gonuh!"

"That's good to know," Coiley said. "I guess."

"He's awake now," the doctor said. "You can go see him if you want, but keep it short. Ah want to keep him ovuhnight for obsuhvation."

Coiley and Multi nodded, and followed the doctor down the hall and into a room. Fluey was laying in bed, with an IV tube in his arm, a tube of sorts in his nose, and a bandage wrapped around his head. He had been watching the TV when the doctor came in with Coiley and Multi.

"Hi, Franky," the doctor said. "Up for some visituhs?"

"Yeah," Fluey said, and Coiley and Multi walked in. The doctor left to check on his other patients.

"How are you feeling, Fluey?" Multi asked.

"Completely drained," Fluey replied. "Not to mention sick to my stomach."

"I can imagine," Multi said.

"Lucky for us the Alabama gig isn't for a couple of days," Coiley replied.

"That reminds me," Fluey said. "I just saw the news, and they said the old Dixie Land park went up in a blazing inferno. What the heck happened?"

"Skittles," Multi said. "She was trying to draw Beauregarde's attention away from us, and she ended up knocking over a couple of candles which caused the plantation house to catch on fire, and the rest of it went up in smoke when Beauregarde started tossing flaming planks at us."

"What's left of the place, anyway, Fluey?" Coiley asked. "We didn't hang around to find out."

"Yeah, did they manage to put it out?" Multi asked.

"Yeah, but it wasn't a pretty sight," Fluey said. "The reporter said by the time it was all over, there was nothing left, except for the charred remains of all the structures in that park. Nothing was salvageable they said."

Coiley and Multi nodded, but didn't say anything. At that moment, a police officer came into the room, carrying an envelope in his hand.

"Pardon me, boys," he said. "But ah'm lookin' for a Franky McAlistuh-Dawson."

"That's me," Fluey said. "Well, it's me if you drop the Dawson, anyway."

"Ah just came from Dixie Land," the officer said, handing the envelope to Fluey. "Or what's left of it, anyway, which ain't much. We found this old diary while searchin' the park. It was the only thing that fire didn't touch. Anyway, we found that lettuh in there as well."

"Thanks," Fluey said, and the officer left. Fluey then handed the letter to Multi.

"You guys open it and read it," he said. "I'm still feeling kinda dizzy from that ordeal."

"Sure," Multi said, and he opened the letter. "Dear Franky, I would have addressed this to your friends, but I didn't know their real names, as they had mentioned yours when I was with them. You may not be aware of what had happened, because that horrible Beauregarde B. Beauregarde had rendered you unconscious with a powerful knock out drug (he called it a sedative, but it wasn't). Thanks to you, the records of Beauregarde can be fixed, now that you had found my diary. I made sure it would survive the fire. And thanks to your friends finally destroying the old amusement park, my spirit, along with the spirits of all of Beauregarde's unfortunate victims, are free, and that horrible man will never harm you, or anyone else, ever again. Tell your friends I shall never forget what they have done for me. Sincerest regards, Dixie Belle Dawson, your great-great-great grandmother."

"Wow," Fluey said. "That was some adventure, huh, fellas?"

"You said it," Coiley replied. "Well, we'd better go, Fluey. The doctor told us to keep the visit short."

Fluey nodded, and closed his eyes to get some sleep. He was completely wiped out. Coiley and Multi were a little tired as well, but they still had things to do before they crashed for the night. Coiley got on his guitar and called Big D to tell him they had a slight medical emergency, but it had been taken care of.

"Fluey should be okay by tomorrow," he said. "And Multi and I just have minor smoke inhalation. It's nothing serious."

"As long as you're sure," Big D said.

"Positive, chief," Coiley replied. "Over and out."

"How come you didn't tell him about Dixie Belle and the park, Coiley?" Multi asked. "I think Big D has a right to know about that."

"That may be true, Multi," Coiley said. "But really, Big D would never believe it."

Multi thought about that one, and agreed. He knew the chief was used to dealing with the strange criminals the Impossibles have faced, but he definitely wouldn't believe anything about a haunted amusement park. Once Coiley signed off, he, Multi, and Skittles went to the Peach Pit Inn for a well deserved good night's sleep.

The End


End file.
